Only Love
by Veela89
Summary: Ch. 1: Ron struggles to get Hermione's forgiveness after leaving her and Harry behind in the search for Horcruxes. Ch. 2: Ron gets Hermione out of Malfoy Manor to safety at Shell Cottage. - A few missing moments from DH about how Ron and Hermione's relationship began. A twoshot.
1. Only Love - part one

**A/N: First of all I want to say that this is my first fan fiction written in English. I've written a few in my own language so writing fan fictions isn't new to me, but in this language it's new. So I don't hope my English skills ruins a good story - just let me know :) **

**This is a few missing moments from the Deathly Hallows that centers around Ron's departure and return. I know not all of it is entirely correct when following the book - so there are a few changes. I was inspired by one of my favorite songs at the moment, "Only Love" by Ben Howard. I think it fits very well into this little oneshot. Check out the lyrics or listen to it before you read. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the wonderful world of Harry Potter. This is all the amazing J. K. Rowling's. **

* * *

_"Ron, no - please - come back, come back!" _(DH p. 254)

These last words he heard from Hermione has haunted him ever since he left his two best friends behind. They were in his dreams, every time he closed his eyes, in every single one of his thoughts - all the time he heard her voice - begging him. He regretted his decision a split second before he Disapparated - when he saw the look on Hermione's face. She looked scared and sad. And so was he the minute he disappeared. It was like something was ripped away from him and it felt far worse than being splinched. Of course he didn't have time to think more about that because of the Snatchers. But after he escaped he felt the pain and realized what he've done and felt her pain as well. He whispered her name to himself everyday. Like he was talking to her. He also told Harry he was sorry. He spent most of his time at Shell Cottage in the bed in the guest room. He hated himself for letting the Horcrux get to him. Why was he so thickheaded? Bill and Fleur tried to get information about what they were up to, which also was one of the reasons he stayed in the little room. He spent most of the time playing pointlessly with the Deluminator - _click, _summoned all the light in the room and _click, _let the light fly back to its original source. He preferred the darkness. He still wondered why Dumbledore left this peculiar advice for him.

On Christmas Night he was lying flat in the bed looking at the dark ceiling thinking about Hermione and Harry. Where were they? Were they alright? Have they found any Horcruxes? Were they in danger? Were they alive? He could drive himself crazy asking himself all these questions. The last two questions made his heart sting. If there was something wrong there was noting he could do to help them or save them. He would have no idea. He really wanted to find them and he wondered if he wished it hard enough he would end up where they where when he Disapparated. He fell asleep.  
_"Ron...Ron..."  
_He woke up and thought hearing her saying his name was a wonderful dream. He wanted to fall asleep again and keep hearing her voice and see her beautiful brown eyes again.  
_"Ron..."  
_He weren't asleep, was he? He heard her whisper his name, like he has been whispering her name every night since he left. He looked to his left at the bedside table. It came from there. He pulled out the drawer and took out the Deluminator. There came a dim light from it and then:  
_"Ron..."  
_Her voice came from it! He sat up in the bed and felt very excited. He tried to answer:  
"H - Hermione?"  
Nothing.  
"Hermione?"  
Still nothing.  
"Hermione? Hermione I'm so sorry!"  
He hoped she could hear him.  
_"Ron..."  
_"Yes, Hermione, I'm here!"  
He was getting desperate. What was going on? Was she in danger? Was she...? No! Then he suddenly knew what to do. He clicked the Deluminator and out from it came a big ball of pulsing bluish light, that made it look like a Portkey. It flew out of the window and down in the garden. He knew he had to follow it. He got dressed, packed all his stuff as quickly he could, left a note for Bill and Fleur on the bed and ran quietly down the stairs and left the house. He hadn't felt this hopeful since he left his friends and he somehow knew that he was on his way back to them now. He found the ball of light in the back yard. As soon as he saw it, it started moving towards the sand dunes that surrounded Shell Cottage. When it had led him to the beach it stopped moving. He waited patiently. Then it suddenly started to move towards him and continued right into his chest, very close to his heart. It felt nice and warm and he instantly thought of Hermione, which made him feel even warmer. And then he Disapparated.

It took a while before he found his friends. Because of their protective spells he couldn't see or hear them. He could only hope for them to show themselves. He waited a whole day in the cold snow before he realized he must have missed them and clicked the Deluminator. Once again the big ball of bluish light flew into his heart and once again he Disapparated. This time Harry showed following a silver doe. Harry dived into the lake. He saved Harry from drowning. Harry wanted him to destroy the Horcrux with the sword he just had picked up from the lake. At first he was hesitant, but Harry insisted. The Horcrux had effected him more than any of the others. Harry whispered in Parseltongue and hell broke lose. Riddle-Harry and Riddle-Hermione in embrace, kissing passionately was the most vulgar thing he had ever seen. He knew it wasn't real and he knew it never would be real. He had been so stupid and unfair to Hermione and once again he cursed himself for letting the Horcrux get to him. He pluck up courage, ran towards the Horcrux and stabbed it with the sword of Gryffindor.

It was easy to get Harry's forgiveness and he somehow thought that it was just as easy to get Hermione's. He had been dreaming of their reunion ever since he left. She would run to him and jump into his arms happy to see him. He would hold her close to him and lift her in a long embrace, maybe dig his head into her brown bushy hair and take in her scent. He even thought it would be easier now that he had saved Harry's life and destroyed the Horcrux. But he was very wrong.

_"You - complete - arse_ - _Ronald - Wasley!" (...) "You - crawl - back - here - after - weeks - and - weeks - oh, where's my wand?" _(DH p. 309)

Luckily Harry saved his skin. She was very angry - he could tell when she called him _Ronald._ He didn't blame her. He just hoped. Her sadness had changed to anger after all those weeks. Oh, how could he do this to her?

It took a while before Hermione softened up. The next few days she either pretended he wasn't there or sent him dirty looks and snapped at him every time he said something. He was very careful around her and tried to remember what he read in _Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches. _He tried to agree with everything she said and purposed, offered her tea, minded his language, complimented her and other things like that. It didn't seem to help at first, maybe because it was too obvious what he was doing. After they found out about the Deathly Hallows, which he agreed with Harry on could exist - maybe they already had two of them! - he had to agree with Hermione to prioritize the Horcruxes. This was about killing Voldemort.

As the weeks went by Hermione became more and more willing to talk to him. Maybe because of Harry's obsession with the Deathly Hallows. They would discuss the whereabouts of the rest of the Horcruxes and went over all the places they could imagine Voldemort had some kind of connection to. He didn't care why they were talking again, he was just happy they did. Even though it was not entirely as it used to be. She hadn't forgiven him. Would she ever? What should it take?

The night before Harry used Voldemort's Tabooed name Harry was on watch outside of the tent, which left him with Hermione for the rest of night. Their relationship were better than weeks before. Back then she would go to bed very early without a word. Sometimes he could have sworn she was crying a little bit. He just didn't know what to do. She was pretending to sleep, so he decided to leave her be. But tonight she stayed up sitting in her bed reading a book - surprise! It was a progress, but they were still not good. He made three cups of tea, went out to Harry with one of them, said good night and went back to the tent. He took the two last cups, went to Hermione's bed and gave one of them to her.  
"Thanks", she said, when he sat down at the foot of her bed. He didn't really know what to say. Just taking a seat on her bed was a major step forward. She looked a little surprised and maybe uncomfortable with the situation. She just sipped her tea looking down in her book. He could tell she wasn't reading anymore - her eyes stayed focused at one spot in the book and sometimes she sent him stolen looks over her cup of tea like she was wondering why he didn't leave.  
"What are you reading?" It was the only thing he could think of asking. And also a very stupid question. Dumbledore was winking at him from the cover of _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore.  
_"The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore," she said without looking up.  
"Anything interesting?" he asked trying to keep the conversation going - if you even could call it a conversation yet.  
"No, not really." Dead end. He watched her take another careful sip of her hot tea and put it on the bedside table and return to the book that she still wasn't reading. She put her hair behind her right ear. She had very small ears he noticed - they were always hidden under her bushy brown hair. She was reading in the book again. He actually liked watching her read. She looked so concentrated with her eyebrows moved close together, completely lost in whatever she was reading. That was one of his favorite things about her, how devoted she was to her books - actually any book she could get her hands on. She was the smartest person he knew and he loved how she just seemed to have an answer to pretty much anything. He used to hate it, but now he love it. Love is a strange thing, he thought. She looked up at him from the book, caught him watching her. He looked away immediately, his ears turning red. Her cheeks turned slightly pink. This was a good sign, he thought.  
"Ron..." "Hermione, I'm so sorry!" They said it at the same time. She looked startled at him. He wished he hadn't interrupted her. He just said it without thinking about it. It was actually not until now he had told her directly that he was sorry.  
"I'm really sorry and I mean it! I was a big git for leaving you. Both of you," he threw his head towards where Harry was sitting outside the tent. She just looked at him without saying anything. He continued:  
"I regretted it at the second I Disapparated, Hermione. When I saw you come out from the tent begging me to stay I knew that I should have stayed. I missed you the second you disappeared from my sight and when you weren't near me anymore. When I heard your voice whispering my name from the Deluminator... It was the happiest I've felt all those weeks. I understand that you are mad at me and you have every right to be. I know you were at least as miserable as me. I just want you to know how sorry I am. I've been terrible to you. Can you ever forgive me?" He looked down at his hands when he said all this and expected her to answer. But she didn't. He looked up and met her brown eyes. Her brown teary eyes.  
"Oh, Ron!" she said, and wiped away her tears with her sleeve. "Ron you have no idea how you broke my heart. I was so afraid that I had lost you. That we had lost you." She twisted her hair around her index finger. He just watched her - he knew she wasn't done.  
"I'm so afraid to lose people in this war. I have already lost my parents, made them forget everything about me. But at least I know they will be safe no matter what happens to us. I'm just scared that I can't get them back if I survive all this. But you. Y - you and Harry aren't safe. W - we are the most wanted people in this country, in this war and if anything happened to you I would..." He moved to her side of the bed and grabbed her shoulders. "Nothing is gonna happen to us, 'Mione, I promise." She looked at him with glassy eyes. She blinked, and the tears rolled down on her cheeks. He carefully wiped them away. She shivered by his touch. They had never been this close before - he had never touched her like that before and he had never called her 'Mione before. But he felt like it was the most natural thing in the world to do all this. He felt his confidence grow:  
"And I promise nothing bad is gonna happen to you as long as I'm around - nor to Harry or to me." They looked at each other in silence. Then she leaned into him and dug her head into his chest and took in his scent. He was surprised about her move, but also happy to feel her so close to him. He put his arms around her and it made him feel very protective of her. He felt that she was his and that he would do anything for her. He smelled her hair - it smelled like nothing else, it smelled like Hermione, her very own scent. It was intoxicating and made him feel lightheaded. He kissed her on the top of her head and hugged her closer to him.

They sat like this for a while without saying anything. Just enjoying the feeling of each other's body. She yawned and broke the silence:  
"Ron?"  
"Yeah?"  
"I'm tired and I wanna go to bed." He didn't want to remove his arms from her. He could sit like this all night if that's what it would take.  
"Will you please stay with me tonight? Just keep holding me so I know you are here?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He felt warmth spreading in his body and a tickling in his stomach - like when he was secretly watching her. He didn't get a change to answer her: She broke out of his embrace and lay down on her pillow. He followed her, put his arm around her waist and spooned her on the bed. She covered them with the covers - it felt nice and cosy. Once again there was silence. She caressed his hand he had placed on her stomach. He couldn't believe how this had happened. An hour ago she didn't want to speak to him. And now they were lying here in her bed.  
"I'm sorry about the way I've been treating you," she said. He kissed her neck (she shivered in pleasure) before he answered:  
"Don't worry 'Mione. I deserved it. If someone has to be sorry it would be me." She turned around so they were facing each other. She put her hand on his cheek.  
"Yeah, you were a complete arse, Ronald Weasley!" They both smiled and laughed a little. Then she leaned in and their lips met. It didn't come as a surprise to any of them. It was in the air and he instantly kissed her back. The kiss developed and their tongues joined in. After a long while they broke the kiss and looked into each other's eyes.  
"Where does this leave us?" she asked. "I mean, what are we exactly?" He thought it was pretty obvious. They've been dancing this dance for some years and now something finally happened.  
"Well, you are mine, aren't you 'Mione? And I'm yours?" His mouth was dry.  
"Oh, Ron, I've wanted this for so long. You have no idea how happy I feel right now." He thought he did. "And I never want this night to end. But when we leave this bed tomorrow morning we are Ron and Hermione - Harry's friends who are helping him fight this war. Not Ron and Hermione - the couple or whatever we are. I think we should stay focused and then take this up again when the war is over." He noticed her view of the future and the outcome of the war had changed during the night. There were no _ifs.  
_"I'm not sure I can keep my hand off you," he said with a little smirk. She reflected him and gave him a small slap on his chest.  
"Okay, I will," he said laughing a little. His face became serious again: "But I will stay close to you all the time and never leave you out of sight. I want to make sure you are safe."

_Little did Ron know that less than 24 hours later he would hear Hermione being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange at Malfoy Manor._

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked this little oneshot. I know I enjoyed writing it. I'm thinking about continuing this story in a oneshot (or an other chapter) about their time at Shell Cottage after they escaped Malfoy Manor. What do you think? **

**And again, I hope my English was okay. As I said before, this is my first fan fiction in English.**


	2. Only Love - part two

**A/N: This is the second part to the oneshot ****_Only Love, _****making it a twoshot you might say. I felt like continuing the story about Ron and Hermione's secret love affair in the middle of the war. This takes place - after Harry used Voldemort's Tabooed name - at Malfoy Manor and Shell Cottage. Again I use a few quotes from Deathly Hallows. I hope you like it. **

* * *

The view of the turbulence at Malfoy Manor disappeared from his eyes as he Disapparated with Hermione in his arms.

_Bill and Fleur's, Shell Cottage, Tinworth, Bill and Fleur's, Shell Cottage, Tinworth, Bill and Fleur's...!_

Ron and Hermione were sucked into nothingness, getting glimpses of random places he didn't recognize. He held her as tight as he could, concentrating on the destination. Her screams were still echoing in his mind - it made him shiver.

_"HERMIONE!"  
He and Harry were trapped in the cellar at Malfoy Manor - he was pacing the room in panic thinking about what to do. No! Not Hermione! He promised her nothing would happen to her or anyone. He had in a moment of desperation offered himself to Bellatrix instead of her. He of course knew before the words had slipped his lips that it was a lost cause. She had looked at him very afraid, begging him to do something. Her eyes were saying it all. They were full of fright and tears. _

_They could hear Bellatrix upstairs:_

_"You are lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth, tell the truth!" (...) "What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you though with this knife!" (DH p. 377) _

He hit the ground hard, which made his legs knuckled under, under the weigh of himself and Hermione, who was still lying unconscious in his arms. He didn't try to get up. He just started sobbing while hugging Hermione into him. He kissed her on her forehead.

"You are safe now, love."

He could feel her heart beat into his chest. She would be all right. He was sure of it. 

_Hermione's screams pierced through his heart: "HERMIONE!"_

_He started to run around in the cellar feeling completely helpless. He tried not to imagine what was going on above him. If he did he would probably go insane. He had to stay focused on finding a way out and to save the girl he loved. He tried to Disapparate to the room upstairs knowing that it wouldn't work. Luna informed him after his fruitless attempt that the cellar was escape-proof. He had completely forgotten that Harry, Luna, Dean, Mr Ollivander and Griphook the goblin were there in the cellar with him. _

_"CRUCIO!"_

_Hermione screamed again and all of them looked up. _

_"HERMIONE! HERMIONE!" he cried out and punched the stone walls in desperation. It made his knuckles bleed, but he didn't care. It couldn't be worse than what was happening to Hermione. She was probably bleeding more than he did - NO! No such thoughts! _

He looked around and noticed they had landed on the beach. It was dark. The stars were very bright and the smell of salt water and a fresh wind from the west hit him. He breathed it in. Shell Cottage was right behind them. He could see people standing outside the house. It looked like Bill, Luna and Dean. Luna and Dean probably told Bill and Fleur that they also would arrive. He knew that he had to get Hermione inside the house so she could be taken care of, but he was very exhausted.

_He and Harry snuck up the stairs leaving the dead Wormtail behind in the cellar. His heart was beating somewhere in his throat and he could hear his pulse in his ears. They hadn't heard Hermione scream or say anything for a while. Bellatrix was interrogating Griphook about the sword. They peeked in the room. Hermione was lying unconscious at Bellatrix's feet. He had a strong urge to go and get her and take her to safety. Bellatrix summoned Voldemort by toughing the Dark Mark on her forearm. He could feel Harry was suppressing the pain in his scar. Voldemort was really on his way. He turned cold inside. They really had to get out. All of them. He had promised her that nothing would happen to any of them. He had already broken his promise, he thought, as he looked at Hermione lying on floor. She was bleeding from her arms and from small wounds on her face. He felt paralyzed. Or at least he did until Bellatrix passed Hermione on to Greyback the werewolf. Without thinking he did what he really wanted to do. He ran out of their hiding place, yelling. Harry was right behind him._

_He, to his big surprise, disarmed Bellatrix and ran towards her. But Draco, Narcissa and Greyback were firing curses in his direction. He had to hide behind a table he had turned over. He cast curses towards his opponents from behind the table hoping to hit some of them. Then he heard someone yell very loud. He couldn't make out the first words - but the next:_

_"Drop your wands," (DH p. 383) Bellatrix whispered. "Drop them or we'll see exactly how filthy her blood is!" (DH p. 383)._

It took a lot of effort to get on his feet. As he approached Shell Cottage the people standing outside started to move around shouting something to someone inside the house. Ron saw Fleur appear in the door. She must have been taking care of Mr Ollivander.

Hermione made a little sobbing sound that sounded like sleep talking. He looked down at her. He could see the fear and defenselessness on her face - it made her look like a vulnerable little girl. He knew what was going on on her retina.

_He froze and turned toward the direction Bellatrix's voice came from. She was standing in the middle of the room putting a knife to Hermione's neck. Hermione was still unconscious. _

_"Hermione!" he whispered to himself, trembling. The sight of Bellatrix threatening Hermione with a knife made him feel sick, angry and weak. _

_When no one reacted she warned them again pressing the blade of the knife into Hermione's throat. Little beads of blood appeared. He felt paralyzed and couldn't move or say anything. It wasn't until Harry yelled something and dropped his wand on the floor that Ron came to his senses and dropped his wand as well. Draco picked them up and got a hold of his wrists as if to tie him up. Draco avoided any kind of eye contact with him - he didn't look comfortable with the situation just as he didn't when they arrived earlier. He knew it was them and he knew it was Harry. But he didn't reveal their identities. What was going on? Then there was a strange noise coming from above. Everyone looked up just in time to see the chandelier above Bellatrix, Hermione and Griphook fall. Bellatrix dropped Hermione on the floor and threw herself aside. With a big crash the chandelier landed on top of Hermione and Griphook. Ron's scream drowned in the crash and explosion of crystals. Draco let go of his wrists to cover up his own face with his hands. _

_Everything happened so fast. Ron ran to get Hermione out from underneath the big, heavy chandelier. He had no idea where his strength came from - he just lifted it and got Hermione out. He lifted her up carefully - she looked horrible with blood and bruises everywhere on her body. She still hadn't woken up and it worried him. He heard people yell around him. It was all chaos. _

_"Hermione, you'll be alright. We'll be out of here soon," he said as he got to his feet with her in his arms._

_Someone yelled something about stealing wands. He looked around and saw Harry throw him a wand with the order to get out of there. He caught the wand and Disapparated. _

Fleur had led Ron through the house and up the stairs to one of the guest rooms - the one he lived in the last time he was there. She had asked him to lay Hermione on the bed so she could take a look at her and asked him to step outside the room so that she could remove her clothes and take a look at her.

While he stood outside the door many thoughts ran through his head. All about Hermione and what she had been through. Would she recover? He thought of Neville's parents and what Bellatrix had done to them. Maybe he had to go see her at St. Mungo's Hospital like Neville did, when he wanted to see his parents. He shivered as his future with Hermione darkened in his mind.

Then he heard a scream for help coming from somewhere outside. The people downstairs moved. The door to the guest room was ripped open and Fleur flung out of the room while she told Ron to go look after Hermione.

"She will be alright for now," she said as she ran down the stairs to assist the others. Ron knew it was Harry who had screamed for help and he wanted to go and help too. What if something was very wrong? But he did what Fleur told him to do.

Hermione was still lying on the bed. Fleur had gotten her into a white nightgown and cleaned her up. Probably with some kind of spell he didn't know of, because she had done it very fast. The dress was more clean than Hermione and he knew that she needed a real bath when she woke up. All the bruises on her face, arms and legs made her look dirty and her skin look grey. He sat down in the chair next to the bed and took one of her hands into his. It was cold - not dead. She was breathing slowly. Her chest went up as she inhaled and down when she exhaled. He looked at her face. Her lips where white and dry. His eyes wandered down to her neck and they fell on a thin scarlet cut made by that knife. He started to cry quietly. He finally cried. It was relieving. He put his face down to her hand that he was holding, kissed it and sat like that - face to hand - for a moment.

Suddenly her hand moved. It was just a little jump. Then one more. Then consecutively. Then her whole arm and upper body moved. He looked at her as she opened her eyes. She looked like she just woke up from a whole night's sleep.

"Ron?"

"I'm here 'Mione, you're alright. Everything is gonna be alright."

"Wh - where am I?" She tried to sit up using her other arm. "Auch!" She fell back down on the pillow.

"What is it? Does it hurt somewhere?" He put his hand on her shoulder.

"I - I think my arm is broken," she sounded exhausted. He was thankful it wasn't more than a broken arm.

"Don't worry, 'Mione. I'm sure Fleur can fix it." He stroke her hair.

"Fleur? Ron, where are we?" She looked puzzled and he didn't blame her. She had no idea what happened at Malfoy Manor after she passed out, which he didn't know when she did. She might not even know that Griphook was there as well.

"We're at Bill and Fleur's. Shell Cottage."

The door opened at this very second. Fleur flew in with a box of different kind of potions in her hand. Ron got on his feet so Fleur could have another look at Hermione. Fleur put the box on the bedside table and sat down on the chair.

"Good, you are awake," she said. "I 'ave already taken a look at zee bruises," she informed Hermione.

"Her arm is broken," he told Fleur. "What happened? Is Harry alright?" Hermione looked frightened at him.

" 'arry is fine," she told them as she looked at different bottles in the little potion box. "But zee little 'ouse elf is dead."

"No!" Hermione whispered. "Was Dobby there?" she asked Ron.

"Yeah, he was the one who saved us all," he said with a lump in his throat.

Hermione's eyes got teary again and she sobbed. He wanted to go and comfort her, but he didn't want to interrupt Fleur. He looked out the window and saw Harry was digging in the garden.

" 'e wants to burry zee elf," Fleur said answering his unspoken question. At first he wondered why Harry didn't use magic to dig the hole. But then it made perfect sense.

"I wanna go help him," he said and turned to the bed. "You alright, 'Mione?" She nodded.

"Just go," she said with a little smile on her lips. "If I could help, I would have done it too."

Ron left the guest room and let Fleur have a last look at Hermione. He ran into his big brother Bill in the kitchen. He hadn't talked to him before now.

"You okay?" Bill asked him while leaning against the kitchen table.

"Yeah," he said with a hoarse voice looking down on the floor trying to avoid eye contact.

"What's going on, Ron?"

He didn't answer.

"You all look like shit! What happened to all of you? Mr Ollivander, Luna and Dean won't tell us. They just say that they've been held captive." Ron knew that these questions would come. Fleur would probably start to question Hermione as well.

"Well, yes that last part is true," Ron said. "But I'm sorry, I can't tell you anything." He could see his brother grew angry with him.

"What the hell, Ron?! You left on Christmas morning with nothing but a note, leaving us worried about you and wondering where you went. And now you all just come here looking like you've faced You-Know-Who himself, and... You haven't, haven't you?" he asked with disbelief.

"We are on a bloody secret mission, Bill! I can't tell you anything. It's between Harry, Hermione and me. Dumbledore gave us a job to do. We can't tell anybody else about it." Why couldn't he understand and leave him alone? But on the other hand he understood that they were worried about them. He left the kitchen before Bill could ask more questions.

He went outside to the back yard and helped Harry dig Dobby's grave. It felt nice to do some manual, physical hard work.

At the break of dawn they where done and ready to burry the elf. The others came out from the house to join. Hermione was wrapped in a cloak to stay warm. He thought that she ought to stay in bed, but he knew it was important to her to be a part of this. He smiled to himself about her stubbornness. She was very pale and unstable on her feet. Fleur had fixed her broken arm. Hermione walked directly towards him and as she reached him, he put an arm around her. She put her arms around his waist and gave him a hug and quickly let go again. Their 'relationship' that they weren't supposed to have was still a secret and it should stay that way - for now. Until the war was over.

The days went by at Shell Cottage. The trio had made a deal with Griphook about breaking into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts. They were sure she was keeping a Horcrux for Voldemort. So they spent most of the days planing how to do it. Bill knew they where up to something with Griphook. Him and Fleur kept asking them what they were up to and insisted on that they stayed with them until the war was over. They of course didn't know that they were the only one's who could end this war. The thought of them being the only one's made Ron a little dizzy at times. That day on September 1st almost seven years ago had turned out to be very fateful. Being best friends with Harry Potter had its consequences. But maybe he wouldn't have become friends with Hermione if it weren't for Harry. Harry had turned out to be the glue that kept this trio together. Now it was different - Harry had somehow glued him and Hermione together and he had a feeling that Harry knew, or maybe have known for years that he eventually would. Ron now knew how stupid he had been when it came to Hermione - how stupid they both have been. He smiled and shook his head at these thoughts. If they hadn't been that stupid they might have been something years ago.

Hermione was getting better. Her bruises and cuts were healing nicely thanks to Fleur's potions. But it wasn't her physical wellbeing that worried people. One night, Ron was lying awake in the living room caught up in his thoughts listening to Harry and Dean's snoring. Then he heard something from a room upstairs. It wasn't loud enough to wake up the whole house - it sounded like someone was sobbing. He got up and went up the stairs. The sound came from the Hermione and Luna's room. He knocked quietly on the door. Luna opened.

"She is having some kind of nightmare," she said. "I can't wake her up."

Hermione was moving around on her bed, shaking. She was in a cold sweat, her face looked like she was in agony and her fists were clenched. She sobbed a little now and then. It was obvious to him what that nightmare was about.

"I will leave you to her and take a little walk. The moon is so pretty tonight," Luna said and closed the door behind her. He didn't get a change to respond to that and was a little confused as she left him alone in the room with Hermione. On the other hand it wasn't unusual Luna-behavior.

He didn't know what to do. Hermione was just lying there, shaking and sobbing.

"No! ...Nooo...!"

He wandered back and forth in front of her bed not knowing what to do. Were you supposed to wake someone up from a nightmare? No, that's sleepwalking. Luna said she couldn't wake her up so it couldn't be an ordinary nightmare. He had no idea she was that traumatized. Everything seemed normal with her.

"No, please! Please!"

He knelt before her bed and took a hold of her hand. She squeezed so hard that it hurt and then let go.

"No! Mum! Dad!" She cried now. Actual tears found their way down her cheeks.

"Hermione! 'Mione, wake up!" He was getting desperate. It broke his heart to see her like this. Should he go and get Bill and Fleur?

"Harry! No! Ron! Rooon! Please, no!" More tears appeared from her closed eyes.

He froze. She said his and Harry's names. He realized that not only was she reliving that night she was tortured. She was going through her worst nightmare. She had told him everything about it in the tent in the forest that night. Without thinking about it he did what he did that night. He climbed into the bed and spooned her. He put his arm around her waist and pushed her into his chest. She was still trembling in her sleep. He shushed her and kissed her cheek.

"Calm down," he whispered into her ear.

It took a while before she was calmed completely down and just sleeping. Ron could feel her tense body starting to relax. He dug his head into his hear and took in the scent. He felt comfortable lying like this with Hermione and gave in to sleep.

He had literally just closed his eyes as he felt Hermione move. She took his hand, kissed it and held it close to her chest. He smiled drowsily. This was actually the fist time they were alone together since they arrived at Shell Cottage.

"How are you feeling, 'Mione?"

"I feel beat up," she said. She turned around so they were facing each other. "But I'm better now that you are here." She leaned in to him and their lips met for the first time since that night in the tent. It felt so long ago. It felt like their first kiss. It was gentle and turned more and more passionate. Their tongues played with each other in their mouths. He put his arm on her hip and pushed their body close together. A moan escaped her lips and she broke off the kiss.

"Hermione Granger," he teased her. "What was that?" he laughed.

"Oh, shut up," she said and hit him playfully on his chest trying to sound stern. Her cheeks had turned pink. They laughed a little.

"Have you had nightmares like this one before?" he asked. He tried to get serious again.

"No, nothing like this. This felt so real. It was like it was happening to me again."

" 'Mione I was so afraid to loose you that night. Your screams... I - I felt like i broke my promise about that nothing would happen to you or any of us. I -"

"Sssh, don't say that, Ron. It wasn't your fault." She put her hand on his unshaved cheek. "You were the one who got me out of there. You saved me." He wondered how she knew that. He hadn't told her. "Luna told me that you came with me in your arms," she said like he had asked the question out loud.

" 'Mione I love you so much -" He dragged her closer to him. Their faces where inches from each other. He almost drowned in her beautiful brown eyes. "I have no idea how to prove to you how much you mean to me, how much I want to spend every living moment with you." He was surprised by his own straight forwardness. She looked at him with as much love in her eyes as he had.

"You don't have to. You already have."

He wasn't sure he understood what she meant. Was it by getting her out of Malfoy Manor?

"Haven't you noticed?"

Noticed what? What was she trying to say?

"The way you act around Fleur has changed," she said. "You are no longer affected by her Veela charm." Now that she mentioned it, it was true. Normally he would get goofy and act stupidly around her - he hated when that happened.

"But I thought Veelas affected pretty much all men. No matter what."

"Yes, that's true. But Fleur is only half Veela. She can't turn on a full-blood charm, which would affect all men more or less. The fact that Fleur's half-blood charm doesn't affect you anymore means that..."

"My heart belongs to you," he finished her sentence. "I only have eyes for you." She smiled and kissed him.

"I love you too, Ron."

They lied for a while looking at each other without saying anything. Just holding hands and get lost in each others's eyes. Then she turned around so that they spooned again.

"We should get some sleep. More planning tomorrow. We need to stay sharp," she said. He smiled. She was always sharp. He thought of Luna and when she would come back. But he didn't care if she found them like this. He just wanted to have this night with Hermione before everything went to hell again. Before they once more were in grave danger. He knew they wouldn't be safe until this was all over and their little trip into Bellatrix's vault at Gringotts wouldn't be a walk in the park.

"Sleep tight, 'Mione."

Once more: when they left this bed, this didn't happen. They would be Harry Potter's friends - doing everything they could to help him win this war. After that, they could be Harry Potter's friends - and more than that.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked it. It got a little fluffier at the end than I planned it to. This will be the end to this oneshot/twoshot. I think it's a good place to leave it. We pretty much know what happens from when they break into Gringotts. Their kiss at Hogwarts wasn't exactly the first one (I like to think) ;) **

**Thank you for your reviews! I'm glad to hear that my English isn't too bad. I'm doing the best I can :) **


End file.
